Opening means for envelopes



July 13, 1965 G. A. ALEXANDROU OPENING MEANS FOR ENVELOPES Filed Sept; 17, 1962 iafmlih.

INVENTOR George A. Alaxandrou A ORNEY United States Patent GPENHNG MEANS FOR ENVELQPES George A. Alexandron, 261 Acharnon Ave,

, Athens, Greece Fitted Sept. 1'7, i962, Ser. No. 224,104

Claims priority, application Greece, June 25, 1962, Patent 23,359 1 Claim. (Cl. 229-86) The present invention relates to envelopes and the like and more particularly to envelopes provided with an opening system.

There are already known envelopes intended to dispatch correspondence or to protect documents. However, in connection with these envelopes of common use there always exists the problem of having them opened by the receiver, an operation which, besides often representing a difiiculty, terminates with the sheets and documents enclosed therein being damaged.

The object of the present invention is to create an envelope provided with an opening system to be operated by the receiver when tearing up the wrapper.

The invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawing in which:

FIG. 1 is a front view of the rear side of the envelope with the flap open, that is to say in the raised position;

PEG. 2 shows the front side of the envelope with a sectional view of the tearing up band and the gripping point for the receiver to quickly open the envelope.

Referring to the drawing, the invention concerns an envelope provided with such means as to permit the receiver to open it without any risk of damaging the sheets contained therein.

As shown in FIG. 1, the envelope 1 along its upper horizontal edge is provided with a band 2 which at the centre of the envelope preferably meets with an ovoidal notch 3 whose shape is delineated by a series of holes traversing the thickness of the envelope.

Above and below the ovoidal notch inside the envelope there are provided vertically arranged rectangular surfaces 4 on which there may be placed advertising matter.

As shown in FIG. 2 of the drawing, which clearly represents the shape of the ovoidal notch 3 divided into two halves by the position of the closed envelope, the hand of the receiver, when tearing up the closed envelope, 0perates in such a way as to grip with the thumb and the forefinger of the hand of the half notch 3 determined by the holes, whereas with the other hand he holds the envelope on the lower opposite side.

According to another feature of the invention, the band 2 extending along the upper horizontal edge of the envelope is continuous and the notch 3 as well as, in a transversal direction, also the surfaces utilized for advertising purposes are directly connected to said opening band, so that the tract-ion on the notch exerted by the receiver when opening the envelope is directly accomplished on the band 2, thus cutting the whole upper edge and opening the envelope by performing a quick movement.

When performing the opening operation, there are detached also the advertising surfaces 4, both having efiicacy at the instant when the envelope is opened by the receiver by lifting the edge, to introduce the material to be dispatched and at the instant when the envelope is torn up by the receiver.

What I claim is:

An envelope having a folded flap for dispatching correspondence and printed matter, provided with a narrow band of flexible material attached longitudinally to the envelope wall adjacent the fold line of the flap, and having a perforated portion of the envelope wall extending in both directions from the fold line to form a detachable finger piece section positioned substantially in the middle of the envelope fold line; a cross piece of printed flexible sheet material for withdrawal with the perforated portion; said band, perforated section, cross piece and envelope wall forming an integral removable unit from the envelope, when detached along the perforated section and pulled from the envelope, tearing away from the envelope a narrow strip of the wall thereof with the integral perforated section.

References Cited lay the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,888,313 11/32 Fiorenza 229 s5 FOREIGN PATENTS 333,029 3/04 France. 882,089 2/43 France.

4,790 1911 Great Britain. 6,079 1896 Great Britain. 20,656 1898 Great Britain.

FRANKLIN T. GARRETT, Primary Examiner. GEORGE O. RALSTON, Examiner. 

